DAY THIRTY-FOUR
March
27, 2017
The Absurdity of Going Back
“Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now
trying to attain your goal by human effort?” Galatians
3:3
On Thursday, August 1, 1985, a room full of America’s
top intelligence officials were gathered outside the office of the director of
the CIA for a farewell reception of a retiring colleague. However, the topic was not about the
retiree. Whispers were flying around the
room that the highest ranking KGB agent, Vitally Sergeyevich Yurchenko, had
defected. He was most important because
he was in charge of all KGB operations in the United States and Canada. Now, he would be able to provide extremely
important information about Soviet spies in America.
After presenting himself to the American Embassy in Rome,
he was quickly flown to the United States in a military plane. Once in the U.S., he was taken to a “safe
house” in northern Virginia where he was interrogated for hours and provided
very sensitive information.
The most startling and amazing part of this story took
place three months later on November 2nd.
Yurchenko had been spurned by a girlfriend in Canada and was growing
increasingly impatient with his situation.
During the evening he persuaded the CIA agent assigned to him to take
him to Georgetown for dinner and a movie.
During dinner Yurchenko asked the agent, “What would you do if I got up
and walked off? Would you shoot
me?” The CIA agent replied, “We don’t
shoot defectors.” Yurchenko countered,
“I will be back in 15 to 20 minutes, if I am not, it is not your fault.” With that he walked out of the restaurant and
presented himself to the Russian Embassy where he un-defected.
The world watched in amazement a few days later as
this man boarded a Russian Aeroflot jet, stopping briefly on the boarding steps
to wave good-bye to freedom. He then
returned to the confines of communism.
Why would anybody who had enjoyed freedom return to communism? Yet that which amazes us in the political
arena is met with welcome acceptance in the spiritual arena. Why would anyone who has tasted the freedom
stemming from the grace of God return to the confines of legalism regulating
that relationship? What kind of
relationship do you have with the God of grace?
Prayer Focus: Pray that we
will continue to live our Christian lives in the Spirit and not by our own
human effort. Ask the God of grace to
help you deepen your relationship with Him by filling you daily with His Holy
Spirit.